Committee founder: Chairman disregards transparency input

The founder of Maury County’s ad hoc rules committee this week is crying foul at the committee’s chair — claiming she is ignoring the very items she was charged to review.

In addition, District 11 Commissioner Scott Cepicky said that ironically, Rules Committee Chairman June Beckum is silencing one of the state’s more preeminent voices advocating for transparency in government.

Cepicky, who created the rules committee while serving as chairman of the county commission earlier this year, is airing several grievances over the performance of that committee this week, beginning with a request he made to add an item to its December agenda.

He said even though he met the deadline established by the current rules for adding an item to the agenda for discussion, Beckum denied his request, saying it would only serve to hold up the committee’s work.

The request was to include a presentation on the importance of governmental transparency from Kent Flanagan, director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, a non-profit organization made up of groups and citizens intending to educate Tennesseans about open records and meeting laws.

“I will not add any public speaker while we are in the review and formation of rules for our commission,” she wrote in an email obtained by The Daily Herald. “It is my intention to get input from the committee and other commissioners present. I hope everyone will understand being time effective. It is Mr. Cepicky who has expressed we need to finish ASAP.”

The former commission chairman said he charged the committee with eliminating inefficiencies and creating transparency. Since the first meeting in October, the rules committee has reviewed six of the 14 rules for the Maury County Commission, which were last amended in 2003.

In their current form, the rules indicate that any commissioner can enter an item on the commission docket, as long as it is entered by the last day of the month preceding commission meetings. The rules also require the requesting commissioner to inform the mayor’s office of the item, “so that the appropriate committee chairman and various committee members … may have ample time to make a recommendation.”

Cepicky said he appealed Beckum’s decision to County Mayor Jim Bailey but was told the mayor’s office would not interfere with Beckum’s decision because the rules only specifically address the full commission, not committees.

Bailey did not return calls for comment Friday.

Cepicky said this adequate notice has also been lacking in the various committees operating in Maury County. He said much of the time, agenda documents are not provided in enough advance to allow commissioners to make informed decisions about the items brought for discussion.

At the last rules committee meeting Nov. 14, Cepicky asked the members to establish a deadline for agenda documents of at least two days prior to each meeting to allow for inspection by the public and commissioners. The committee opted to recommend a deadline for agenda materials to be turned in to county staff 24 hours prior to each meeting.

Though he will not have a chance to voice his opinion at the rules committee Monday, Flanagan said 24 hours was pushing the limits of adequate notice for the public. He said even the two days Cepicky recommended would be operating at bare minimum.

“How are people supposed to study and develop opinions on any item that’s coming before the commission if they don’t have adequate time to do it?” Flanagan said Friday. “The whole idea of democracy, and open government in particular, is the engagement of the public. Working with the officials they elect doesn’t stop after they vote for them.”

The committee in November also declined to address a policy — requested by Cepicky — that would allow for all agendas, minutes and other supporting documents to be posted online for review.

Maury County Tea Party President Tricia Stickel, a staunch proponent of transparency in Maury County government, said she has been advocating for advance notice of what is to be discussed at each meeting, as well as for audio recordings and minutes of each meeting, in a reasonable time.

She added another matter of great importance to the public is whether comments can be made to committees or the full commission. At last month’s rules committee meeting, Beckum declined Stickel’s request to speak.

“It’s the people’s business, and that’s what she doesn’t get,” Stickel said Friday. “Community government is for many of us, the closest government to the people. … We need to educate the commission on the role of government. Without blaming anybody for thinking they’re queen or king, they’re there to serve or represent the people. They’re there to represent the people’s business.”

If citizens want their opinion on the rules heard prior to their presentation to the full commission, Beckum said they would need to address their concerns through their representatives on the commission. Beckum later recommended that members of the public at large who want to speak at committee meetings should consider their own bid for office.

“The rules committee is getting input from committee members and commissioners who are present,” Beckum told The Daily Herald Tuesday. “(The public) will have input at any commission meeting, not at committee. Maybe some of these people will run for office. … Jump on in. The water’s fine.”

The rules committee meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Tom Primm Commission Room.

Rules for posting comments

Comments posted below are from readers. In no way do they represent the view of Stephens Media LLC or this newspaper. This is a public forum.

Comments may be monitored for inappropriate content but the newspaper is under no obligation to do so. Comment posters are solely responsible under the Communications Decency Act for comments posted on this Web site. Stephens Media LLC is not liable for messages from third parties.

IP and email addresses of persons who post are not treated as confidential records and will be disclosed in response to valid legal process.

Do not post:

Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.

Obscene, explicit, or racist language.

Copyrighted materials of any sort without the express permission of the copyright holder.

Personal attacks, insults or threats.

The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.

Comments unrelated to the story.

If you believe that a commenter has not followed these guidelines, please click the FLAG icon below the comment.